Public Markets 3 Days

Last updated: May 16, 2026, 8:30 PM ET

Equities & AI Trade

The artificial intelligence trade extended its rally Thursday as Cisco Systems’ upbeat earnings powered tech shares, but rising bond yields triggered a selloff in chipmakers Friday with the 10-year Treasury yield climbing to nearly 4.6%, its highest level in over a year. Bank of America strategists warned the market is ripe for profit-taking in early June, citing crowded positioning and mounting inflation risks, even as retail investors piled into a six-week AI-focused fund that became a record-breaking trade. The bond selloff threatens to knock the AI stock frenzy off course, traders said, while South Korea’s Kospi index briefly breached 8,000 for the first time just seven sessions after hitting 7,000, propelled by tech demand. A new form of tax-loss harvesting has gained traction amid the stock surge, allowing investors to offset gains without triggering tax liabilities.

Trump-Xi Summit & Trade

President Trump’s Beijing summit with Xi Jinping produced no concrete breakthroughs despite a show of friendliness, with China’s Ministry of Commerce later indicating that tariff reductions were discussed in a statement that seemingly contradicted the White House. Touches of conciliation shifted the foundations of U.S. China policy as Trump called Xi a “friend,” but the lack of a deal raised questions about Taiwan arms sales as a bargaining chip, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a softer tone to align with the president. Markets reacted tepidly: Asian stocks remained subdued after the meeting, while Boeing shares slid on disappointing sales announcements as Trump said Beijing would expand agriculture and oil purchases. China nevertheless renewed import permits for hundreds of U.S. beef plants, reviving trade in meat, though the trade war has settled into an uneasy truce.

Energy & Commodities

A global rush to stockpile goods intensified as the Iran war deepened, with Vitol Group offering Iraqi Basrah crude outside Hormuz in a sign that some oil shipments may be bypassing the strait. However, Trump’s $40 billion ship insurance facility for Hormuz has done zero business due to a lack of naval escorts. Meanwhile, Adnoc continued loading LNG onto tankers masking their location in the Persian Gulf, and Berkshire Hathaway sold about $8 billion of Chevron shares REF: